Atttoliatic-dbop wheel-guard



A. J. BERG.

AUTOMATIC DROP WHEEL GUARD.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. I, 1918.

1,31 L678. Patented Oct. 7,1919.

2423255: I five/27277 rinrrn smiles ra'rnnr QFFICE.

AUGUST J. BERG, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

AUTOMATIC-DROP WHEELGUARD:

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 1,1918. Serial No. 256,490.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUeUs'r J. BERG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Automatic-Drop- VVh'eel-Guard', ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to wheelguards secured to the front end of motor vehicles and which are automatically dropped when an object contacts with the tripping apron'which is hung in front of the wheelguard, and the objects of my improvements are first to automa-t ically drop the realedge of the inner part of the cradle simultaneously with the front edge thereof; second, to enable-varying the distance that the rear edge drops irrespective of how far the front edge drops;

third, to provide means for preventing the was thus dropped tothe roadway the slope or inclination of the same was so abrupt that any object which may have been caught up on the cradle would tend'to slide or roll-down toward the front edge of thecradle,'fnrthermore as the vehicle-is suddenly brought to a stop the momentum of the object on the cradle-also tends to cause said object to slide or roll forward off the front edge of the cradle. Another undesirable feature is that when the cradle is dropped to the ground the front edge of the cradle is liable to catch against any obstruction protruding above the roadway andtliusbedamagedor my invention the broken. By the use of cradle whendropped is on' such a slight incline that there is very slight or no tendency for an object on the'cradle toslide or roll toward the front edge or the same and the cradle always tends to slide over any obstruction protruding above the roadway.

To'describe my invention so that others versed in the art to which it pertains can make and use the same, I have illustrated it on the'accompanylng sheetof drawing formuseful fourth, to economize on the con adjusting rod 11 is'freetomove to the ing a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 isa central longitudinal section of a wheelguard embodying my invention showin thecradle in itsnormal upper position;'Tig. '2, 1s a similar view Sh'OWH-Ig'tlie cradle droppedto the roadway and Fig; 3, is

a fragmental plan view showing the construction of the cradle.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The platform timbers of a vehicle are indicated at 4 to which the depending supports 5 and 6 are secured. A cross shaft 7 'isrot'atably mounted in supports 6; and on said shaft loosely hangs the tripping apron 8 bymeans of hooks 9.

(As clearly shown in- Fig. 1 if the lower end of the apron 8 is swung to the left the hook 9 will contact with pin 10. which ex} tends laterally from the free end of-arm 11 made rigid toshaft 7,;and will partly rotate said shaft 7 clockwise. The forward end of the operating or adjusting rte-11' is pi-votally connected at 12 to the free end-ofarm 13 rigidly secured to shaft 7. In its'normal position as seen in'Fig; 1, the operating or adjusting rod 11' tends to'pu'sh forward 00-- w aid the shaft 7, but isfprevented from moving" forward because-the pivot 12 isjslightly' below'the plane of the center of shaft'l, and

the shaft is-prevented fr'ointurning contraclockwise. Thus when th'eshaftq is g'ivena' slight turn clockwise by the swinging of the apron 85 the pivot'lZisturi-ied up' above the plane of the center of shaft Land when the pivot 12 is in such'posi-tion the operatingor' right above shaft 7 toassume"a-position asshown in Fig. 2. T o reset or turnthe' shaft-'Tb-ack to its normal position a third arm l i is rigidly' secured to shaft 7" and has pivotally connected to its free enda foot lever 15 which extends upward through a perforationin platform 4. The lever 15 is curved so that a downward pressure of thefoo't will tend to rotate shaft? contra-clockwise from the position shown Fig. 2, tea position shown in Fig. 1.

' Patented Oct. 7, 1919.

Pivotally mounted on the lower end of each support 5 at 16 isanupright 17 having a horizontally disposed hollow extension" 18; The uprights 17 are spaced apart and are rigidly secured together by means of a plu rality of rods or pipes 19 which form the upright rear portion of the cradle, while the frame for the horizontally disposed por tion is formed by a U shaped rod or pipe 22 having its ends secured in the hollow horizontally disposed extensions'18. The bot tom or inner part of the cradle is formed of a plurality of slats 20, preferably wood, se cured in a spaced apart position by a a plu-- rality of flat metal bands 21 which have their forward ends hooked around the straight front part of the rod or pipe 22, so that the said bottom or inner part of the cradlecan swing about said rod or pipe as a pivot.

Rigidly secured to the rods or pipes 19 are a pair of arms 23 30 which extend forward from the uppermost rod or pipe 19 a suitable distance and have their forward extremities extending upward a short distance which are forked and pivo-tally connected at '24 to the two operating or adjusting rods 11?. The rear ends of the two operating or adjusting rods 11 extend a short distance to the rear of the rods or pipes 19 where they are curved downward and have their extrem- -.ities connected by means of hooks 25 to the rear edge of the bottom or inner part of the cradl and support the same. The hooks 25 are attached to the rear edge of the cradle bottom crinner part by means of fiat metal bands 26 or other suitable means. The flat metal bands 26 are secured to the slats 20 of the cradle bottom or inner part and have their rear ends extended slightly beyond the rear slat where they are provided with "a perforation through which the hooks 25 loosely fit. In this manner the entire cradle i. e., the outer frame and thebottom or inner part can be built stock size in large quantities and the metal bands 26 secured in proper position tothe slats to fit the particular construction of car to which each guard is .to be applied.

It will be noted that in operation the cradle and of course the arms 23 also, swing about the pivots 16, and that whenthe operating or adjustingrods 11' are in their rear position the front edge of the cradle is held up from theroadwayasseen in Fig. 1, and whenthe operating or adjusting rods 11 are in their forward position the front edge of theeradle is free to drop to the roadway .as'seen in Fig. 2. The position wheel and length of the arms 28 are such that,

when the front end of the cradle is held up from the-roadway, the rear edge of the cradle bottom-or inner part is held in an elevated position-as 'shown in Fig.1, and

when the front edge of the cradle is per-- mitted to drop to the roadway the, rear edge of the cradle bottom or inner part is lowered as shownin Fig. 2. The distance that the rear edge of the cradle bottom or inner part is raised and lowered can be varied .springs 27 are positioned as shown by varying the length of the arms 23. To prevent the cradle from loosely swinging to yieldin'gly hold the operating or adjust- .ingrods 111 in a forward position. While.

I have shown and described my improved automatic dropping cradle in connection the cradle down, and of course also tends with a wheelguardjwhich is automatically dropped bymeans of a tripping apron, the

same may be employed in connection with any kind of a car fender.

The cradle bottom or. inner part may at times become so heavily loaded with dirt, mud or snow and ice that its weight acting through the hooks 25 will pull down on the rear ends of the rods 11 and tend to lift the front ends of the rodsll shaft 7 To counteract such overweight of the cradle bottom or inner part, the to partly lift-on the rear ends of the'rods 11.

The hooks 25 it will be noted are arranged to have their upper ends pivotally connectedto the rear bent down ends of, the rods 11, and have'the hookpart at the, lower end extending rearwardly with the straight shank part free to slide through the perforation provided therefor in the bands-26. Thus should the bottom or inner part of the cradle become clogged and refuse to dropfreely by its own weight as it might in case mud and snow accumulated thereon. becomes frozen, the front edge of the cradle will be free to drop about the pivots 16; the shanks of the hooks 25 in-such event sliding down through the perforations in the metal bands 26. I I r I It will be understood that the size, shape and arrangement ofthe parts. may be ova ried without in the leastdeparting from the scope of my invention, 1

Having thus fully describedmy invention what I claim as new and I desire to secure by Letters 1. In a device of the class described, a cradle mounted on to-have its front end mounted on a rock shaft to control the to trip the Patent of the United States is o pivots having an outer frame and abottom or inner part arranged swing. up and down,

an operating or adjusting rodeonnectedat. one end to the cradle: and at the other end. to the free end of a crank arm rigidly movement of the cradle about its pivots,

means for automatically tripping the rock shaft to permit the front edge of the cradle to drop to the roadway and means for resetting the rock shaft comprising acurved' foot lever guided by and extending through a hole in the platform of the vehicle. z 2. In a device of the class described, a

cradle comprising an outer frame and a bot tom or inner part both horizontally disposed, an upright rear portion, the frame of the cradle being pivotally mounted on the vehicle to have the upper end of the rear portion swing forward and back and the front edge of the cradle frame swing down and up, said bottom or inner part of the cradle being pivotally connected to the front edge of the cradle frame to have its rear edge swing up and down relative to the cradle frame, means for dropping the front edge of the cradle frame and means operatively connected to said first named means whereby the rear edge of the cradle bottom or inner part will move up and down simultaneously with the front edge of the cradle frame.

3. In a device of the class described, a cradle comprising a rear upright portion and a horizontally disposed outer} frame rigidly connected together and a bottom or inner part pivotally mounted on the front edge of the outer frame, said outer frame mounted on pivots to have the upper part of its rear portion swing forwardand backward and the front edge of the outer frame to swing down and up, means for causing the rear edge of the bottom or inner part of the cradle to move down and up simultaneously with the front edge of the outer frame, means for automatically dropping the front edge of the cradle and means for restoring the same to its normal position,

i. In a device of the class described, a cradle mounted on pivots having an outer frame and a bottom or inner part arranged to have its front end swing up and down, said bottom or inner part flexibly connected to the cradle outer frame to have its rear edge free to move up and down with relation to the outer frame, means for automatically dropping the cradle to the roadway and means for resetting the cradle to its raised position.

5. In a device of the class described, a cradle comprising an outer frame and a bottom or inner part both horizontally disposed and an upright rear portion, said bottom or Copies of this patent may be obtained for inner part being so mounted and arranged that it will move vertically while remaining in substantially a horizontal plane, means for automatically dropping the cradle to the roadway and means for resetting the cradle to'its raised position.

6. In a device of the class described, a cradle comprising an outer frame and a bottom or inner part both horizontally disposed and an upright rear portion, said bottom or inner part being so mounted and arranged that it will move vertically while remaining in substantially a horizontal position, means for automatically dropping the cradle to the roadway and means for resetting the cradle to its raised position comprising a curved foot lever guided by and extending through a holein the vehicle platform.

7. In a device of the class described, a cradle comprising a rear upright portion and a horizontally disposed outer frame rigidly connected together and a bottom or inner part pivotally mounted on the front edge of the outer frame, means for automatically dropping the cradle to the roadway and means for resetting the cradle in its raised position. I

8. In a device of the class described, a

cradle comprising a rear upright portion and a horizontally disposed outer frame rigidly connected together and a bottom or inner part pivotally mounted on the front edge of the outer frame to have its rear edge free to move up and down with relation to the outer frame, means for automatically dropping the cradle to the roadway and means for resettting the cradle to its raised position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in presence of three subscribing witnesses this 16th day of March, 1918, at Chicago,- Illinois.

AUGUST J. BERG.

l/Vitnesses LOUISE BERG, ESTHER BERG, RICHARD J. JAoKEn.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

